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ConText and ResStore 1.0.0 ---------------------------
2002 Ralph & Rodger Sutherland. All rights reserved.
These two tools are used to extract and import Nova resources to and from TEXT based spreadsheet style data suitable for editing in Excel or other spreadsheets.
Requirements: ------------- ConText and ResStore require a PPC mac. System 8.1 to OSX. They are FAT carbon, so they run natively in OS8/9 and OSX.
Useage: -------
ConText
You can drop single, multiple or folders of resource files/Nova datafiles/Nova plugins onto Context. You can then select which set or subset of resource types you want to extract into TEXT format. You can select one or more resource types in the resource list that appears, and even disconnected selections using the command key to modify the clicks.
You can choose to output flag and color data as hex or as decimal integers.
External resourcews include PICTS, rles, cicns, snds etc, where the resource itself is extracted to an individual file and just the details (such as location, name etc) are recorded in the spreadsheet. Other resources are recorded entirely in the spreadsheet.
Resources in the spreadsheet are one per row, grouped by resource type, with fields separated by <tab> characters. An end of record marker "used in the last field to protect from Excel deciding to trim trailing empty fields from the records when reading them in and resaving them
The TEXT format uses tags to mark resources, to help ResStore read them back in again and recreate the resources. Any text outside the tags is ignored and may be whatever you like.
Tags generally start with a gin and end tags for the whole data set as well as for different resource types. Take a look at the example ConText.txt to see how it works.
String data is filtered to preserve quotes and so on (expecially in descs) so that the spreadsheet programs can handle the data. quotes are replaced by q, returns by r and tabs by t. Restore will recognise these subtitutes and restore the original formatting when it recreates the resorces.
For very long textual descs resources, Mish and Mash may provide a better format for handling the data, where multiple line fields are allowed and the formatting is more free-form and suitable for text editors.
ConText creates a single text file called ConText.txt (renamable) that contains all the resources in the files dropped on it. Each resource record includes information on the original location of the resources, and ResStore will re-create multiple files from the ConText File.
ResStore
ResStore takes a TEXT file created by ConText, or by othermeans such as a Database as long as it has the right tag structure, and recreates the Nova resources. It creates a new file with '.res'. appended so that ResStore will never overwrite and original file, for safety reasons.
ResStore is pretty flexible about reading numerical data. Data fields can be in decimal, or several different hex formats: $0000, 0x0000, and #0000 interchangabley anywhere an integer value is used. By convention ConText uses hex format for flag fields and HTML colours, but other files created by other means can use hex if desired anywhere.
With external resources, ResStore looks in the same directory as the ConText.txt file for the external file, based on the name in the data entry.
In principle you could maintain a developing nova plugin as a directory with a ConText.txt file plus a lot of sounds and PICT files etc, and just use ResStore to compile it when needed. That way you can change PICT or sprite resources by simply dropping new copies into the folder and replacing older ones in the normal way with the finder.
Memory Issues -------------
Memory requirements are greatest when large 'external' resources are processed.
Disclaimer ----------
Use at your own risk, preferably on copies of your data files until you understand how these tools work. These tools are free and are offered 'as is', while we like getting email feedback, and bug reports, we may not always be able to provide technical support.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.sutherland-studios.com/~family/sgg.html") w00tWare (/url) : NovaTools are coming.
Quote
Originally posted by DrRalph: **These two tools are used to extract and import Nova resources to and from TEXT based spreadsheet style data suitable for editing in Excel or other spreadsheets. **
Can i import spreadsheets from AppleworksŽ? I always hated MS office...
------------------ It's time for a new challenge. (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/benedwards/.cv/benedwards/Public/Ares1.2/StarsAreFire%3AC4.sit-binhex.hqx")The Stars Are Fire(/url)-A TC for Ares ...And so the human race reached for the stars, unknowing of the dangers that awaited them...